1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing system, printing method, print server, control method, and computer-readable medium for performing pull print control.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has conventionally been proposed a so-called “pull print” printing system capable of outputting print data from a printing apparatus when the user issues a print request to the printing apparatus for print data temporarily stored in a server (see, for example, Japanese Patent No. 4033857). In printing from an application, the user can output print data not from a specific printing apparatus but from a printing apparatus of his choice.
As a re-printing method for a printout the user did not intend, the following system is proposed (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-304881). More specifically, the UI (User Interface) of a printer driver running on a client PC is displayed on the panel of a printing apparatus. The user operates the UI to designate re-print settings and re-printing.
It is difficult for the conventional method to designate a change of print setting information when the user issues a print request from the printing apparatus for print data temporarily stored in the server. Print data temporarily stored in the server has a PDL (Page Description Language) format dependent on the printing apparatus. Hence, PDL data has to be edited according to a print setting information change instruction. For example, assume that the user designates a print setting to impose four pages on one page (to be referred to as 4in1) when he issues a print request from the printing apparatus for print data temporarily stored in the server. At this time, PDL print data temporarily stored in the server needs to be changed to match 4in1. If PDL is a raster format dependent on the resolution of the printing apparatus, a raster image is reduced to implement 4in1, causing various problems of quality degradation such as loss of a thin line. Since PDL has a variety of specifications, much labor is required to cope with these PDL specifications. In the first place, if a PDL specification is not open to the public, no PDL can be changed.
As a method of designating a change of print setting information by the user from the printing apparatus, the UI of a printer driver running on a client PC is displayed on the panel of the printing apparatus. However, it is hard to apply this method to a pull print system. A printing apparatus to output has not been finalized yet when the user designates printing on the client PC to execute pull print. The functions of a printer driver UI for use have to be general-purpose ones independent of the printing apparatus. A printing apparatus to output is finalized only after the user goes to the printing apparatus and operates the panel of the printing apparatus. The functions of the pull print printer driver UI displayed on the panel of the printing apparatus are merely general-purpose ones. In other words, functions specific to the printing apparatus cannot be used, limiting print settable functions.